Tarot Card Meanings

Three of Wands

You are prepared to take risks to explore new opportunities or enterprises.

General Meaning

This suit, most often called "Wands" and sometimes called "Rods" or "Staves," represents initiative, ambition, drive and desire. This is the suit of enterprise and risk-taking.

A Three in this suit symbolizes an inner balance that allows you to feel more optimistic about new endeavors you are committed to, or want to commit to. In the illustrated Tarots, the human character is standing on his balcony, watching ships leave the harbor, loaded with his goods for far-off ports, dreaming of the fortune he will reap if all goes well. Summon the optimism within you.

This energy must be patient and trusting, because he or she will have to wait some time to find out how the ships have fared. Meanwhile, a lot of resources are tied up until they return with the bounty. Only those truly confident in their ideas and abilities would undertake such a risk. This card represents the energy a person needs to take on great adventures and accomplish noble (and remunerative) deeds.

A detail that sometimes appears in the more esoteric Tarots is a winged wand with two snakes twining around it, called the Caduceus, which is Mercury's wand. This is an ancient symbol of the healer or shaman, one who can travel between the worlds to rescue souls from death or possession. Perhaps the feeling of empowerment this card represents points to the internal mechanisms of self-healing. Perhaps it refers to the courage it takes to be an entrepreneur or an inventor, which is in itself a magical process -- bringing not only opportunity for success, but also an awakening to higher potentials.

In the Advice Position

Go with your intuition. This is the time to make your move.

The card in the Advice position suggests a course of action which will harmonize what you want with what is currently possible.

The Three of Wands in this position advises you to act quickly and powerfully on an idea or desire you have been feeling. This card suggests exquisite timing, staying in the moment and responding to your instinct or intuition.

Every fiber of your being may be saying this is a great opportunity, even if those around you aren't as convinced. There's nothing to lose from taking a risk; this is a great moment in your entrepreneurial growth. Make your move and sort out the details later.